SALE SUMMARY
Border Leicesters
2018 2017
Offered 59 70
Sold 50 70
Top $1800 $1700
Av $1312 $1034
Poll Dorsets
Offered 55 54
Sold 46 52
Top $1800 $1700
Av $1156 $983
LONG-TIME local clients bid up at Vanita Border Leicester and Poll Dorset stud’s annual ram sale on Tuesday last week at Kingston SE, ensuring a significant lift in average in both breeds.
Fifteen registered bidders from the Kingston area as well as a handful from Lucindale, Mount Gambier and Penola bought 50 of 59 paddock reared Border Leicester rams for a $1312 average and 46 of 55 Poll Dorsets for a $1156 average.
Bidding was strong early for the Geue family’s Border offering with many making $1400 to $1700 and reaching a high of $1800.
The sale topper was Lot 21 – an August drop ram weighing 93 kilograms and sired by Coolawang 149/12.
The Geues donated the proceeds from the ram to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Repeat clients for the past decade Alex and Harold Ratcliff, Haydenwood Partners, Kingston SE, were the successful buyers.
They were also the sale’s volume buyer selecting 20 rams averaging $1430.
The Ratcliffs join 3500 Merino ewes annually to Border Leicester rams with their top ewe lambs destined for the Naracoorte first cross ewe sale.
Another repeat buyer, MH Marwood & Co, Kingston SE, bought 11 Border Leicesters to $1700 averaging $1645.
The Poll Dorset offering which followed topped at $1800 four times.
Lot 61, the top pick in the first pen of three rams, was knocked down for the equal top money to Chris Wright, CB&SJ Wright, Kongorong.
The May 2017 drop ram weighed in at 123.5kg with an eye muscle depth of 39mm and was sired by Zacman 114/15.
Brian Ling, BT&E Ling, Mt Benson, won the bidding at $1800, for the third pen of Poll Dorsets offered, taking all three rams.
Two of the rams carried Zacman 31/15 genetics while the third ram was sired by Hanookra 36/15.
AK&AH Parker, Kingston SE, were the volume Poll Dorset buyers, securing 13 rams to $1500 for an average of $1115; the Rasheed family, Boolapuckee Pastoral, Kingston SE bought nine rams at a top of $1600, for an average of $1289.
As with the Borders, bidding was strong throughout the Poll Dorset run, tailing off just at the end of the catalogue and simply running out of buyers.
Landmark auctioneer Richard Miller said the three main long-term volume clients underpinned the sale’s success putting a floor in prices.
He said buyers knew they could receive good value for money on the very consistent and even lineup of pasturefed rams.
Vanita stud principal Nathan Geue said it was a very good sale with prices holding up well despite clearing less rams than last year.
